Embodiments of a high-speed rotatable workpiece abrasive polishing head are disclosed that allow flat surfaced hard material workpieces or sapphire or semiconductor wafers to be polished at high abrading speeds that can use water-mist cooled quick-change fixed abrasive island-type discs. Workpieces can be quickly attached with vacuum to a rotatable workpiece plate having a curved (e.g., spherical) bearing with an offset spherical center of rotation located at the workpiece abraded surface. Abrading contact there prevents lateral abrading friction forces from tilting workpieces and causing non-flat workpiece surfaces. The workpiece carrier plate can be rotationally driven by a floating drive shaft having a spherical spline head that contacts the workpiece carrier plate at a position close to the workpiece abraded surface to avoid tilting of the workpiece due to the shaft-applied workpiece rotation forces. The workpiece head can allow the workpieces to either float in contact with the abrasive or be held in rigid contact with the abrasive.

A grinding apparatus including a chuck table for holding a wafer, a grinding unit having a spindle for rotating a grinding wheel, an inclination adjusting unit for adjusting the inclination of the rotation axis of the chuck table with respect to the rotation axis of the spindle, a touch panel, and a control portion. The control portion is adapted to compare the information regarding the target sectional shape input into a target shape input field with the information regarding the present sectional shape input into a present shape input field and then control the inclination adjusting unit to change the inclination of the rotation axis of the chuck table so that the wafer is ground to obtain the target sectional shape of the wafer.

A novel polishing apparatus which determines a polishing end point of a substrate on the basis of a strain of a constituent element of the polishing apparatus caused by friction between a substrate such as a wafer and a polishing pad. The polishing apparatus includes a rotatable polishing table which supports a polishing pad, a polishing head which presses the substrate against the polishing pad, a rotating shaft connected to the polishing head, a support structure which rotatably supports the rotating shaft, a strain measuring instrument which measures a strain of the support structure, and an end point detector which determines a polishing end point of the substrate on the basis of a change in the strain. The strain measuring instrument includes at least one strain sensor fixed to the support structure.

A novel polishing apparatus which determines a polishing end point of a substrate on the basis of a strain of a constituent element of the polishing apparatus caused by friction between a substrate such as a wafer and a polishing pad. The polishing apparatus includes a rotatable polishing table which supports a polishing pad, a polishing head which presses the substrate against the polishing pad, a rotating shaft connected to the polishing head, a support structure which rotatably supports the rotating shaft, a strain measuring instrument which measures a strain of the support structure, and an end point detector which determines a polishing end point of the substrate on the basis of a change in the strain. The strain measuring instrument includes at least one strain sensor fixed to the support structure.

A polishing apparatus according to an embodiment includes a polishing pad including a polishing surface for polishing a polishing target object and a membrane including a contact surface that is in contact with the polishing target object on the opposite side of the polishing surface. The contact surface is deformed from a flat surface into an uneven surface in response to pressure applied to the membrane.

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.

Disclosed is a polishing head for a polishing apparatus for polishing a quadrangular substrate using a polishing pad attached to a polishing table, comprising a head body portion, a plurality of elastic bags disposed in a surface of the head body portion, which is to face the polishing table, and a substrate holding plate for holding the substrate, the substrate holding plate being pressed by the elastic bags in a direction away from the head body portion, the head body portion being provided with channels for bags, which are in communication with the respective elastic bags, the polishing head further including at least two support plates disposed between the elastic bags on one hand and the substrate holding plate on the other, the elastic bags being configured to press the substrate holding plate through the support plates.

Disclosed is a polishing head for a polishing apparatus for polishing a quadrangular substrate using a polishing pad attached to a polishing table, comprising a head body portion, a plurality of elastic bags disposed in a surface of the head body portion, which is to face the polishing table, and a substrate holding plate for holding the substrate, the substrate holding plate being pressed by the elastic bags in a direction away from the head body portion, the head body portion being provided with channels for bags, which are in communication with the respective elastic bags, the polishing head further including at least two support plates disposed between the elastic bags on one hand and the substrate holding plate on the other, the elastic bags being configured to press the substrate holding plate through the support plates.

Included are a polishing table provided with an eddy current sensor, the polishing table configured to rotate; a polishing head configured to face the polishing table, the polishing head configured to rotate, the polishing head having a surface which faces the polishing table and to which a substrate is configured to be attached; and a processor configured to generate preprocessed data on a target substrate by executing predetermined preprocessing on an output signal when the eddy current sensor is at each position facing a target substrate during polishing processing of a target substrate to determine a metal line height at at least one position of the target substrate by inputting preprocessed data on the target substrate to a learned machine learning model using a learning data set in which data after predetermined preprocessing is executed on an output signal when the eddy current sensor is at each position facing a substrate is set as an input and a metal line height at at least one position of the substrate is set as an output.

A chemical mechanical polishing apparatus includes a fixing portion; and a rotary body module including a rotating shaft rotatably installed on the fixing portion, a first rotating unit connected to the rotating shaft and on which a wafer is mounted, and a second rotating unit disposed around the first rotating unit and on which a retainer ring is mounted, wherein the fixing portion comprises a first driving member disposed above the first rotating unit and a second driving member disposed above the second rotating unit, wherein the first and second driving members are comprised of a magnet or an electromagnet, wherein a first magnet, disposed opposite to the first driving member, is provided in the first rotating unit, and a second magnet, disposed opposite to the second driving member, is provided in the second rotating unit, and wherein the first rotating unit and the second rotating unit are independently tilted.