Disclosed is a substrate polishing method comprising placing a substrate into a substrate polishing apparatus, rotating each of the substrate and a polishing pad of the substrate polishing apparatus, allowing a bottom surface of the substrate to contact a top surface of the polishing pad, and determining whether the polishing pad would benefit from maintenance. The polishing pad includes a plurality of annular regions that are homocentric with a central point of the top surface of the polishing pad. The step of determining whether the polishing pad would benefit from maintenance includes ascertaining a state of the bottom surface of the substrate, and selecting one of the plurality of annular regions by using information about the state of the bottom surface of the substrate. The one of the plurality of annular regions would benefit from maintenance.

A system and method for chemical mechanical polishing (“CMP”) pad replacement on a CMP processing tool. A platen carrier having two or more platens is positioned within a platen cleaning process module. Each platen includes a CMP pad affixed thereto, and is capable of being independently rotated during operations. When a pad requires replacement, the platen carrier rotates towards a pad tearer tool, which extends and pivots to remove the used pad from the platen as the carrier rotates. A pad tape replacement module is positioned above the CMP tool with pad tape extending from a supply roll to a recycle roll. As the pad tape transits through the module, a backing of the tape is separated and recycled. A pad disposed in the pad tape is then applied to a platen via a pressure roller.

A grinding apparatus including a robot, a grinding tool attached to the robot, a force sensor configured to detect a force exerted on the grinding tool, and a controller connected with the force sensor and configured to control the robot. The controller includes a variation acquiring section configured to acquire the present position of the robot by pressing the grinding tool against a reference surface in such a manner that a pressing force detected by the force sensor is constant, and to acquire a difference between the acquired present position and a reference position of the robot stored in advance, the difference being acquired as a variation of the grinding tool.

A prognostic and health management system for precision ball grinding machines includes: a detector connected to a first and a second grinding discs; and a central processing module including a determining unit, a historical data recording unit, a timing unit, and an alarm unit. The detector is connected to the determining unit, detects data of the two grinding discs, and sends the data to the determining unit, the determining unit compares data in the historical data recording unit to determine whether the first and second grinding discs are abnormal, if there is an abnormality, the alarm unit releases a warning signal, if the determining unit determines that there is no abnormality, the timing unit records a grinding time of the first and second grinding discs, and based on a comparison of the past records, the alarm unit releases a warning signal after a predetermined time has elapsed.

A prognostic and health management system for precision ball grinding machines includes: a detector connected to a first and a second grinding discs; and a central processing module including a determining unit, a historical data recording unit, a timing unit, and an alarm unit. The detector is connected to the determining unit, detects data of the two grinding discs, and sends the data to the determining unit, the determining unit compares data in the historical data recording unit to determine whether the first and second grinding discs are abnormal, if there is an abnormality, the alarm unit releases a warning signal, if the determining unit determines that there is no abnormality, the timing unit records a grinding time of the first and second grinding discs, and based on a comparison of the past records, the alarm unit releases a warning signal after a predetermined time has elapsed.

In one embodiment, a method is provided for polishing a substrate. The method generally includes receiving a plurality of dwell times of a pad conditioning disk, wherein the plurality of dwell times are to be used in a pad conditioning process performed on a pad disposed on a platen, and each dwell time corresponding to a zone of a plurality of zones of the pad disposed on the platen, determining a plurality of total pad conditioning disk cut times to be used in the pad conditioning process, each total pad conditioning disk cut time corresponding to a zone of the plurality of zones, and generating a first pad wear removal model based on a set of parameters, including the plurality of dwell times and the plurality of total pad conditioning disk cut times.

A method for conducting an abrasive operation can include providing a fixed abrasive article and separating a first part from a second part using the fixed abrasive article according to a deterministic process.

A grinding machine includes a working grinder and a holding unit. The working grinder includes a grinding wheel mounting section and a power mechanism. A grinding wheel is mounted on the grinding wheel mounting section. The holding unit includes a base, a movable seat, a holding device, and a grinding wheel trimming module. The grinding wheel trimming module includes a transmission shaft box, a motor, a holding claw, and a clamping cylinder. The holding claw is used for holding a trimming grinding wheel. The holding unit further includes a pedestal, and a clamping arm. The clamping arm is provided with a holding end. Thus, the holding end grips and moves the trimming grinding wheel to the holding claw which is driven by the clamping cylinder to clamp the trimming grinding wheel. Then, the holding end releases the trimming grinding wheel.

A method of conditioning a polishing pad includes positioning a conditioning head to bring a conditioning pad into contact with a polishing surface of a polishing pad. The method further includes generating a first pressure signal using a first pressure sensor based on a force being applied to the polishing surface by the conditioning pad. The method further includes generating a surface condition signal using an optical scanner. The method further includes adjusting the positioning of the conditioning pad in response to at least one of the first pressure signal or the surface condition signal.

A method of conditioning a polishing pad includes positioning a conditioning head to bring a conditioning pad into contact with a polishing surface of a polishing pad. The method further includes generating a first pressure signal using a first pressure sensor based on a force being applied to the polishing surface by the conditioning pad. The method further includes generating a surface condition signal using an optical scanner. The method further includes adjusting the positioning of the conditioning pad in response to at least one of the first pressure signal or the surface condition signal.