# US 11,897,080 B2 · Polishing apparatus > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,897,080 B2 - Document ID: US11897080B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/065,787 - Filed: 2020-10-08 - Published: 2021-04-22 - Granted: 2024-02-13 - Earliest claimed: 2019-10-16 - Assignees: Ebara Corporation - Applicants: Ebara Corporation - Inventors: Masashi Kabasawa; Yasuyuki Motoshima; Hisanori Matsuo; Keisuke Kamiki - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11897080B2 ## CPC - B24B 37/015: Temperature control - B24B 37/013: Devices or means for detecting lapping completion - B24B 37/20: Lapping pads for working plane surfaces - B24B: MACHINES, DEVICES, OR PROCESSES FOR GRINDING OR POLISHING (grinding of gear teeth B23F, of screw-threads B23G1/36; by electro-erosion B23H; abrasive or related blasting B24C; tools for grinding, buffing or sharpening B24D; polishing compositions C09G1/00; abrasives C09K3/14; electrolytic etching or polishing C25F3/00; grinding arrangements for use on assembled railway tracks E01B31/17); DRESSING OR CONDITIONING OF ABRADING SURFACES; FEEDING OF GRINDING, POLISHING, OR LAPPING AGENTS ## Abstract There is disclosed a polishing apparatus which can regulate a surface temperature of the polishing pad without causing a defect such as a scratch on a substrate such as a wafer. The polishing apparatus includes: a non-contact type pad-temperature regulating device; a pad-temperature measuring device. The pad-temperature measuring device is arranged adjacent to the pad-temperature regulating device and on a downstream side of the pad-temperature regulating device in a rotation direction of a polishing table. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A polishing apparatus, comprising: a polishing pad having a polishing surface, a polishing table configured to support the polishing pad; a polishing head configured to press a substrate against the polishing pad; a non-contact pad-temperature regulating device arranged above the polishing pad; a pad-temperature measuring device configured to measure a surface temperature of the polishing pad, the pad-temperature measuring device being arranged adjacent to the pad-temperature regulating device and on a downstream side of the pad-temperature regulating device in a rotation direction of the polishing table; an atomizer configured to clean the polishing surface of the polishing pad; and a controller configured to control the pad-temperature regulating device based on the surface temperature of the polishing pad measured by the pad-temperature measuring device, wherein the pad-temperature measuring device is arranged on the downstream side of the pad-temperature regulating device and on an upstream side of the atomizer, and wherein when a region between the atomizer and the pad-temperature regulating device is defined as a temperature control stable region, the pad-temperature measuring device is arranged in the temperature control stable region, and the polishing head is arranged in a region outside the temperature control stable region. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The polishing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pad-temperature regulating device comprises an infrared heater configured to radiate infrared rays to a surface of the polishing pad. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The polishing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the pad-temperature regulating device comprises a reflector configured to reflect the infrared rays radiated from the infrared heater toward the polishing pad. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The polishing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pad-temperature regulating device comprises a suction nozzle configured to decrease an ambient temperature by sucking hot air adjacent to the surface of the polishing pad. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The polishing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pad-temperature regulating device comprises a fan configured to form a flow of air toward a surface of the polishing pad. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The polishing apparatus according claim 1, wherein the pad-temperature regulating device comprises a plurality of infrared heaters arranged in a radial direction of the polishing pad, and wherein the controller individually controls each of the infrared heaters to partially change the surface temperature of the polishing pad. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The polishing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a film-thickness measuring device configured to measure a film thickness of the substrate, and wherein the controller determines a target temperature of the polishing pad based on the film thickness of the substrate measured by the film-thickness measuring device to control the pad-temperature regulating device based on the determined target temperature. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The polishing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pad-temperature regulating device comprises a heating fluid nozzle configured to spray a heating fluid onto a surface of the polishing pad. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The polishing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pad-temperature regulating device comprises a cooling device configured to cool a surface of the polishing pad. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The polishing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the polishing head causes a temperature difference on the polishing surface between an upstream region and a downstream region of the polishing head in the rotation direction of the polishing table, and wherein the temperature control stable region corresponds to the downstream region. ### Claim 11 A polishing apparatus, comprising: a polishing pad having a polishing surface a polishing table configured to support the polishing pad; a polishing head configured to press a substrate against the polishing pad; a non-contact pad-temperature regulating device arranged above the polishing pad; a pad-temperature measuring device configured to measure a surface temperature of the polishing pad, the pad-temperature measuring device being arranged adjacent to the pad-temperature regulating device and on a downstream side of the pad-temperature regulating device in a rotation direction of the polishing table; and a controller configured to control the pad-temperature regulating device based on the surface temperature of the polishing pad measured by the pad-temperature measuring device, wherein the pad-temperature regulating device comprises a heating fluid nozzle configured to spray a heating fluid onto the surface of the polishing pad, wherein the pad-temperature regulating device comprises a suction nozzle configured to suck air near a surface of the polishing pad, and wherein the heating fluid nozzle comprises a plurality of supply ports arranged around a suction port of the suction nozzle so that the heating fluid flows toward the suction port of the suction nozzle. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The polishing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the supply ports are inclined at a predetermined angle toward the suction port of the suction nozzle so that swirling flows toward the suction port of the suction nozzle are formed by the heating fluid. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The polishing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the controller controls the pad-temperature regulating device so that a flow rate of the fluid sucked by the suction nozzle is equal to or higher than a flow rate of the heating fluid supplied from the heating fluid nozzle.