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.

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.

An apparatus for chemical mechanical polishing includes a platen having a surface to support a polishing pad, a carrier head to hold a substrate against a polishing surface of the polishing pad, a pad conditioner to hold a conditioning disk against the polishing surface, an in-situ polishing pad thickness monitoring system, and a controller. The controller is configured to store data associating each of a plurality of conditioner disk products with a respective threshold value, receive an input selecting a conditioner disk product from the plurality of conditioner disk products, determine a particular threshold value associated with the selected conditioner disk product, receive a signal from the monitoring system, generate a measure of a pad cut rate from the signal, and generate an alert if the pad cut rate falls beyond the particular threshold value.

An apparatus for chemical mechanical polishing includes a platen having a surface to support a polishing pad, a carrier head to hold a substrate against a polishing surface of the polishing pad, a pad conditioner to hold a conditioning disk against the polishing surface, an in-situ polishing pad thickness monitoring system, and a controller. The controller is configured to store data associating each of a plurality of conditioner disk products with a respective threshold value, receive an input selecting a conditioner disk product from the plurality of conditioner disk products, determine a particular threshold value associated with the selected conditioner disk product, receive a signal from the monitoring system, generate a measure of a pad cut rate from the signal, and generate an alert if the pad cut rate falls beyond the particular threshold value.

A conditioner of a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) apparatus includes a conditioning part to polish a polishing pad, an arm to rotate the conditioning part, and a flexible connector connecting the conditioning part with the arm, the flexible connector being moveable to allow relative movements of the conditioning part with respect to the arm.

A conditioner of a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) apparatus includes a conditioning part to polish a polishing pad, an arm to rotate the conditioning part, and a flexible connector connecting the conditioning part with the arm, the flexible connector being moveable to allow relative movements of the conditioning part with respect to the arm.

The present invention relates to a cyber-physical system for optimizing a simulation model for chemical mechanical polishing based on actual measurement data of chemical mechanical polishing. The chemical mechanical polishing system includes a polishing apparatus (1) for polishing the workpiece (W) and an arithmetic system (47). The arithmetic system (47) includes a simulation model including at least a physical model configured to output an estimated polishing physical quantity including an estimated polishing rate of the workpiece (W). The arithmetic system (47) is configured to: input polishing conditions for the workpiece (W) into the simulation model; output the estimated polishing physical quantity of the workpiece (W) from the simulation model; and determine model parameters of the simulation model that bring the estimated polishing physical quantity closer to a measured polishing physical quantity of the workpiece (W).

The present invention relates to a cyber-physical system for optimizing a simulation model for chemical mechanical polishing based on actual measurement data of chemical mechanical polishing. The chemical mechanical polishing system includes a polishing apparatus (1) for polishing the workpiece (W) and an arithmetic system (47). The arithmetic system (47) includes a simulation model including at least a physical model configured to output an estimated polishing physical quantity including an estimated polishing rate of the workpiece (W). The arithmetic system (47) is configured to: input polishing conditions for the workpiece (W) into the simulation model; output the estimated polishing physical quantity of the workpiece (W) from the simulation model; and determine model parameters of the simulation model that bring the estimated polishing physical quantity closer to a measured polishing physical quantity of the workpiece (W).

The present disclosure relates to abrasive articles including an abrasive member having opposing major surfaces, a working surface and an exterior attachment surface, wherein the abrasive member comprises an inorganic material having a Mohs hardness greater than about 7.0; and a magnetic member, having opposing first and second major surfaces and a corresponding magnetic force, wherein the first major surface of the magnetic member faces the exterior attachment surface. The abrasive articles of the present disclosure may include a third member. The third member is attached to the magnetic member by a magnetic force. The abrasive member with attached magnetic member is designed to be easily removed from the third member. Methods of separating an abrasive member from an abrasive article and replacing the abrasive member of an abrasive article are also provided.

The present disclosure relates to abrasive articles including an abrasive member having opposing major surfaces, a working surface and an exterior attachment surface, wherein the abrasive member comprises an inorganic material having a Mohs hardness greater than about 7.0; and a magnetic member, having opposing first and second major surfaces and a corresponding magnetic force, wherein the first major surface of the magnetic member faces the exterior attachment surface. The abrasive articles of the present disclosure may include a third member. The third member is attached to the magnetic member by a magnetic force. The abrasive member with attached magnetic member is designed to be easily removed from the third member. Methods of separating an abrasive member from an abrasive article and replacing the abrasive member of an abrasive article are also provided.