CHEMICAL MECHANICAL POLISHING APPARATUS FOR POLISHING WORKPIECE

Abstract

The present invention relates to a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) apparatus for polishing a workpiece, such as a metal body, to a mirror finish. The chemical mechanical polishing apparatus includes: a polishing pad (2) having an annular polishing surface (2a) which has a curved vertical cross-section; a workpiece holder (11) for holding a workpiece (W) having a polygonal shape; a rotating device (15) configured to rotate the workpiece holder (11) about an axis of the workpiece (W); a pressing device (14) configured to press a periphery of the workpiece (W) against the annular polishing surface (2a); and an operation controller (25) configured to change a speed at which the rotating device (15) rotates the workpiece (W) according to a rotation angle of the workpiece (W). The pressing device (14) is disposed more inwardly than the workpiece holder (11) in a radial direction of the polishing table (3).

Claims

1. A polishing method comprising: rotating a workpiece; polishing the workpiece by pressing the workpiece with a pressing device against a side surface of a polishing pad, the pressing device being disposed above the polishing pad; and changing a rotational speed of the workpiece according to a rotational angle of the workpiece during polishing of the workpiece.

2. The polishing method according to claim 1, wherein: the workpiece has a linear portion and a corner portion constituting a periphery of the workpiece; and the rotational speed when the corner portion is being polished is lower than the rotational speed when the linear portion is being polished.

3. The polishing method according to claim 1, further comprising: measuring the rotational angle of the workpiece by a rotary encoder.

4. The polishing method according to claim 1, wherein: rotating the workpiece comprises rotating a plurality of workpieces; polishing the workpiece comprises polishing the workpieces by pressing the workpieces with a plurality of pressing devices against the side surface of the polishing pad at the same time, the plurality of pressing devices being disposed above the polishing pad; and changing the rotational speed comprises changing rotational speeds of the workpieces according to rotational angles of the workpieces during polishing of the workpieces.

5. The polishing method according to claim 1, further comprising: rotating the polishing pad; and during polishing of the workpiece, supplying a polishing liquid from a polishing-liquid supply nozzle onto the side surface of the polishing pad, the polishing-liquid supply nozzle being disposed upstream of the workpiece in a direction of the rotation of the polishing pad.

6. The polishing method according to claim 1, further comprising: monitoring a polished state of a periphery of the workpiece by a polished-state monitoring device during polishing of the workpiece; and determining a polishing end point of the workpiece based on the polished state monitored by the polished-state monitoring device.

7. The polishing method according to claim 6, wherein the polished-state monitoring device comprises a digital camera having an image sensor or a photometer configured to measure an intensity of light reflected from the workpiece.

8. The polishing method according to claim 6, wherein: the workpiece comprises a painted workpiece; and determining the polishing end point comprises determining the polishing end point of the workpiece based on a change in a color of the painted workpiece monitored by the polished-state monitoring device.

9. The polishing method according to claim 1, further comprising: measuring an electric current supplied to a table motor configured to rotate a rotatable polishing table supporting the polishing pad; and determining a polishing end point of the workpiece based on a measured value of the electric current.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0010] FIG. 1 is a side view of a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0011] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

[0012] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a rectangular workpiece at a rotation angle of 0 degrees;

[0013] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the rectangular workpiece at a rotation angle of 45 degrees;

[0014] FIG. 5 is a graph showing a relationship between rotation angle of a workpiece and rotational speed of the workpiece;

[0015] FIG. 6 is a plan view of a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus including a plurality of polishing heads;

[0016] FIG. 7 is a side view of a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus including a surface-condition monitoring device for monitoring a surface condition of a periphery of a workpiece;

[0017] FIG. 8 is a side view of a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus including a motor ammeter for monitoring an electric current supplied to a table motor for rotating a polishing table;

[0018] FIG. 9 is a side view of a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to another embodiment;

[0019] FIG. 10 is a plan view of the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus shown in FIG. 9;

[0020] FIG. 11 is a side view of a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to yet another embodiment;

[0021] FIG. 12 is a plan view of the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus shown in FIG. 11; and

[0022] FIG. 13 is a plan view of an embodiment of a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus including a plurality of polishing heads shown in FIGS. 11 and 12.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0023] Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view of a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus. The chemical mechanical polishing apparatus includes a polishing pad 2 having an annular polishing surface 2a, a rotatable polishing table 3 supporting the polishing pad 2, a polishing-liquid supply nozzle 5 for supplying a polishing liquid onto the annular polishing surface 2a, and a polishing head 1 for pressing a periphery of a workpiece W against the annular polishing surface 2a of the polishing pad 2 to polish the periphery of the workpiece W.

[0024] The periphery of the workpiece W is composed of a curved surface. The annular polishing surface 2a has an inwardly-curved vertical cross-section that follows a shape of a vertical cross-section of the periphery of the workpiece W. The curvature of the curved vertical cross-section of the annular polishing surface 2a is equal to or slightly larger than the curvature of the vertical cross-section of the periphery of the workpiece W.

[0025] The polishing head 1 includes a workpiece holder 11 for holding the workpiece W, a servomotor 15 as a rotating device for rotating the workpiece holder 11 about an axis of the workpiece W, and an air cylinder 14 as a pressing device for pushing the servomotor 15 toward the center of the polishing pad 2 to thereby press the periphery of the workpiece W, held by the workpiece holder 11, against the annular polishing surface 2a.

[0026] The polishing pad 2 of this embodiment has a disk shape, and the annular polishing surface 2a constitutes at least a part of a circumferential surface of the polishing pad 2. The polishing pad 2 is attached to an upper surface of the polishing table 3. The polishing table 3 is configured to be rotated about its axis by a table motor 18, so that the polishing pad 2 rotates about its axis together with the polishing table 3.

[0027] The workpiece holder 11 is configured to be able to detachably hold the workpiece W by screwing, magnetic force, vacuum suction, freezing chuck, vacuum attraction chuck, or other technique. The workpiece holder 11 is configured to hold the workpiece W in a horizontal position.

[0028] The workpiece holder 11 is coupled to the servomotor 15. The servomotor 15 is a rotating device for rotating the workpiece holder 11 and the workpiece W, held by the workpiece holder 11, about their axis. The servomotor 15 has a built-in rotary encoder (not shown) for measuring a rotation angle of the workpiece holder 11 and the workpiece W.

[0029] The servomotor 15 is held by a horizontally-extending linear guide 20, and is horizontally movable along a longitudinal direction of the linear guide 20. The longitudinal direction of the linear guide 20 is parallel to a radial direction of the polishing pad 2. Therefore, the servomotor 15, the workpiece holder 11, and the workpiece W are movable in the radial direction of the polishing pad 2.

[0030] The servomotor 15 is coupled to the air cylinder 14. This air cylinder 14 is configured to move the servomotor 15, the workpiece holder 11, and the workpiece W together in a horizontal direction (i.e., in the radial direction of the polishing pad 2). More specifically, the air cylinder 14 is capable of moving the workpiece W in directions away from and closer to the annular polishing surface 2a of the polishing pad 2.

[0031] When the air cylinder 14 pushes the servomotor 15 toward the center of the polishing pad 2, the workpiece holder 11 and the workpiece W, together with the servomotor 15, move toward the annular polishing surface 2a, until the periphery of the workpiece W is pressed against the annular polishing surface 2a. The force with which the periphery of the workpiece W is pressed against the annular polishing surface 2a is regulated by the air cylinder 14.

[0032] An operation controller 25 is coupled to the air cylinder 14 and the servomotor 15. The operation controller 25 is configured to control operations of the air cylinder 14 and the servomotor 15. More specifically, the operation controller 25 controls the force generated by the air cylinder 14, i.e., the force with which the periphery of the workpiece W is pressed against the annular polishing surface 2a, and also controls the speed at which the servomotor rotates the workpiece W.

[0033] The linear guide 20 and the air cylinder 14 are secured to a base 27. The base 27 is coupled to a positioning mechanism 29 for adjusting a vertical position of the base 27. The vertical positions of the air cylinder 14, the linear guide 20, and the workpiece holder 11 are adjusted by the positioning mechanism 29. Accordingly, the vertical position of the workpiece W, held by the workpiece holder 11, relative to the annular polishing surface 2a is also adjusted by the positioning mechanism 29.

[0034] An outlet of the polishing-liquid supply nozzle 5 is directed to the annular polishing surface 2a of the polishing pad 2 so that a polishing liquid, such as a slurry, is supplied onto the annular polishing surface 2a. The outlet of the polishing-liquid supply nozzle 5 is disposed upstream of the workpiece W in a direction of rotation of the polishing pad 2 and the polishing table 3. Therefore, the polishing liquid, supplied from the polishing-liquid supply nozzle 5, is carried by the rotating annular polishing surface 2a to the periphery of the workpiece W, which is a portion to be polished.

[0035] The polishing operation of the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus will now be described. While the polishing pad 2 and the polishing table 3 are being rotated as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a polishing liquid (slurry) is supplied from the polishing-liquid supply nozzle onto the annular polishing surface 2a of the polishing pad 2. Further, the workpiece holder 11 and the workpiece W are rotated by the servomotor 15. The air cylinder 14 pushes the servomotor 15, the workpiece holder 11, and the workpiece W toward the center of the polishing pad 2, thereby pressing the periphery of the workpiece W against the annular polishing surface 2a. The periphery of the workpiece W is rubbed against the annular polishing surface 2a in the presence of the polishing liquid. The periphery of the workpiece W is polished to have a mirror surface by a chemical component of the polishing liquid and abrasive particles contained in the polishing liquid. Since the annular polishing surface 2a has a vertical cross-section that follows the shape of the vertical cross-section of the periphery of the workpiece W, the curved surface, constituting the periphery of the workpiece W, uniformly contacts the annular polishing surface 2a and is polished to a mirror finish.

[0036] When the workpiece W has a rectangular shape, it is preferred that an entire periphery of the workpiece W be polished uniformly. In view of this, the operation controller 25 is configured to change the rotational speed of the workpiece W according to the rotation angle of the workpiece W. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the rectangular workpiece W at a rotation angle of 0 degrees, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the rectangular workpiece W at a rotation angle of 45 degrees. FIG. 5 is a graph showing a relationship between the rotation angle of the workpiece W and the rotational speed of the workpiece W. A vertical axis of FIG. 5 represents the rotational speed [angular degrees/min] of the workpiece W, and a horizontal axis represents the rotation angle of the workpiece W. The workpiece W is in the state shown in FIG. 3 when the rotation angle of the workpiece W is 0 degrees: a linear portion of the periphery of the workpiece W is in contact with the polishing pad 2. As shown in FIG. 5, the rotational speed of the workpiece W is lowered each time the workpiece W rotates 90 degrees, i.e., with a period of 90 degrees.

[0037] The rotation angle of the workpiece W is obtained by the above-described rotary encoder installed in the servomotor 15. A measured value of the rotation angle is sent from the rotary encoder to the operation controller 25. The operation controller 25 changes the rotational speed of the workpiece W based on the measured value of the rotation angle.

[0038] According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, a time of contact between the workpiece W and the annular polishing surface 2a can be uniform over the entire periphery of the workpiece W. The polishing pad 2 can therefore uniformly polish the periphery of the workpiece W.

[0039] FIG. 6 is a plan view of a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus including a plurality of polishing heads 1. As shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of polishing heads 1 may be arranged along a circumferential direction of the polishing pad 2. A plurality of polishing-liquid supply nozzles 5 are disposed adjacent to the polishing heads 1, respectively.

[0040] The chemical mechanical polishing apparatus may include a polished-state monitoring device for monitoring a polished state of the periphery of the workpiece W. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus includes a surface-condition monitoring device 32 as the polished-state monitoring device, which monitors a surface condition of the periphery of the workpiece W held by the workpiece holder 11. Examples of such a surface-condition monitoring device 32 may include a camera (e.g., a digital camera equipped with an image sensor such as CCD) for imaging the periphery of the workpiece W, and a photometer for measuring an intensity of light reflected from the periphery of the workpiece W.

[0041] The surface-condition monitoring device 32 quantifies the surface condition of the periphery of the workpiece W, and sends a numerical value obtained to the operation controller 25. For example, the surface-condition monitoring device 32 may obtain a numerical value of a color or irregularities of the peripheral surface of the workpiece W, or may obtain a numerical value of the intensity of light reflected from the peripheral surface. In order to make it easy to detect a change in the color, paint may be applied to the peripheral surface of the workpiece W in advance. The operation controller 25 determines a polishing end point of the workpiece W based on the numerical value (i.e., the surface condition of the periphery of the workpiece W) sent from the surface-condition monitoring device 32.

[0042] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus includes a motor ammeter 33 as the polished-state monitoring device, which monitors an electric current supplied to the table motor 18 that rotates the polishing table 3. A frictional force that acts between the workpiece W and the polishing pad 2 changes as the peripheral surface of the workpiece W becomes smoother as a result of polishing. The change in the frictional force leads to a change in the electric current supplied to the table motor 18. The motor ammeter 33 measures the electric current that flows to the table motor 18, and sends a measured value of the electric current to the operation controller 25. The operation controller 25 determines a polishing end point of the workpiece W based on the measured value of the electric current (i.e., the surface condition of the periphery of the workpiece W) sent from the motor ammeter 33.

[0043] FIG. 9 is a side view of a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to yet another embodiment, and FIG. 10 is a plan view of the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus shown in FIG. 9. An annular polishing pad 2 is used in this embodiment. An inner peripheral surface of the annular polishing pad 2 constitutes an annular polishing surface 2a. The annular polishing surface 2a has an outwardly curved vertical cross-section. The polishing liquid is supplied onto an area located inside the annular polishing surface 2a, and flows outwardly due to a centrifugal force until the polishing liquid reaches the annular polishing surface 2a. The annular polishing pad 2 can easily hold the polishing liquid on its annular polishing surface 2a, and can therefore reduce an amount of the polishing liquid used.

[0044] FIG. 11 is a side view of a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to yet another embodiment, and FIG. 12 is a plan view of the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus shown in FIG. 11. The construction and the operation of this embodiment, not particularly described here, are the same as those of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and duplicate descriptions thereof are omitted. In this embodiment, the air cylinder 14 is disposed more inwardly than the workpiece holder 11 (preferably along the radially inner side of the workpiece holder 11) in the radial direction of the polishing table 3 (and the polishing pad 2). In FIG. 11, the air cylinder 14 is located above the polishing table 3 and the polishing pad 2. The air cylinder 14 may be located below the polishing table 3 and the polishing pad 2. The air cylinder 14 moves the servomotor 15, the workpiece holder 11, and the workpiece W toward the center of the polishing pad 2, thereby pressing the periphery of the workpiece W against the annular polishing surface 2a.

[0045] FIG. 13 is a plan view of an embodiment of a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus including a plurality of polishing heads 1, each of which is shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. The air cylinders 14 of the polishing heads 1 are located inside the polishing table 3 and the polishing pad 2. Therefore, as can be seen in FIG. 13, the overall width of the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus can be small.

[0046] The surface-condition monitoring device 32 shown in FIG. 7, and the motor ammeter 33 as another exemplary surface-condition monitoring device, shown in FIG. 8, can be applied also to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 11 through 13. Further, the annular polishing pad 2 shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 may be applied to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 11 through 13.

[0047] In the above-described embodiments, the workpiece W, in its entirety, has a rectangular shape, and its periphery has an outwardly curved vertical cross-section. The chemical mechanical polishing apparatuses according to the above-described embodiments can be used not only for polishing of a workpiece having, in its entirety, a polygonal shape, but also for polishing of a workpiece having, in its entirety, a circular shape.

[0048] The previous description of embodiments is provided to enable a person skilled in the art to make and use the present invention. Moreover, various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles and specific examples defined herein may be applied to other embodiments. Therefore, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope as defined by limitation of the claims.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

[0049] The present invention is applicable to a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) apparatus for polishing a workpiece, such as a metal body, to a mirror finish.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

[0050] 1 polishing head [0051] 2 polishing pad [0052] 2a annular polishing surface [0053] 3 polishing table [0054] 5 polishing-liquid supply nozzle [0055] 11 workpiece holder [0056] 14 air cylinder [0057] 15 servomotor [0058] 18 table motor [0059] 20 linear guide [0060] 25 operation controller [0061] 27 base [0062] 29 positioning mechanism [0063] 32 surface-condition monitoring device [0064] 33 motor ammeter [0065] W workpiece